St Andrews is the oldest golf course in the world, est around 1400 AD.
When it first opened, it was a 22 hole course, 11 out and 11 back, but some of the holes were too small, so in 1764 they combined some of the holes to create an 18 hole course.
A seperate green was created for the first hole, this changed the direction of play, Originally the course played in a clockwise direction but now it was possible to play in an anti-clockwise direction.
Each week they would change the direction of play, between clockwise and anti-clockwise until they settled on anti-clockwise or right handed circuit. The majority of the bunkers are designed to catch any rouge balls from a left handed circuit direction.
As golf became increasing popular and combined with the layout of the course, the shared 9th green became very congested. So to aid golfers , 2 holes were cut in the green , one used a white flag for people playing the first 9 holes and a red flag for those playing their last 9 holes. The 18th hole still uses only a white flag.
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